


just in this

by tospreadthewingsofthesoul



Category: Dimension 20 (Web Series), Dimension 20: Fantasy High
Genre: By nice things I mean Sklonda, F/F, Friends With Benefits, Let Sandra Lynn have nice things 2k21, Non-Romantic Relationships, Pre-Freshman Year, and these milfs deserve to have nice things, being a mom is hard
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-08
Updated: 2021-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-14 04:40:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,461
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29911545
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tospreadthewingsofthesoul/pseuds/tospreadthewingsofthesoul
Summary: Sandra Lynn and Sklonda aren’t in love, but they do both have teenagers, and friends are hard to come by. It’s about the company. It’s about the intimacy. It’s about not having to be alone sometimes.
Relationships: Sandralynn Faeth/Sklonda Gukgak
Comments: 1
Kudos: 19





	just in this

**Author's Note:**

> Look I KNOW that Mr. Mulligan said that Sandra Lynn got the Kalina disease from Gorthalax, who got it from Sklonda, but I was already halfway through this before I learned that. 
> 
> Plus I just love non-romantic intimacy and moms being friends.

It had been far, far too long since Sandra Lynn had had a friend.

She knew how pathetic that sounded, but the truth was that with Fig and the divorce and the Ranger Service, she hadn’t even noticed the lack. She’d been too full of “stressed” and “scared” and “angry” to bother with subtler emotions like loneliness.

She felt it now, though, as Sklonda pressed the button on the blender for their next batch of margaritas. The kitchen light that Sandra Lynn had been meaning to fix for six months flickered. Usually it was maddening, but something about this - one a.m. on a school night, both of them dressed in their bedraggled work clothes, laughing until they snorted tequila through their noses - something made that flicker feel warm, welcoming. Real, maybe.

“God, I can’t remember the last time I stayed up this late on a school night,” Sandra Lynn realized as soon as the blender switched off. Sklonda brought the whole pitcher back to the table.

“I truly wish I could say the same. Honest to god I do.” Sklonda wetted the rim of the glasses and dipped it in the salt bowl with a swift, practiced twist. Sandra Lynn wondered where she’d learned to do that so elegantly. She cleared her throat.

“Right, because of- I forgot you were working swing shift now.” Sandra Lynn poured the first glass while Sklonda dipped the second. Sklonda snorted.

“The crazy thing is it’s not even the job! It’s Riz! I get home at like, what, midnight most nights? But I get home and my kid is halfway through a brand-new pot of coffee and he’s so caught up in his newest case that he doesn’t even notice he’s trailing yarn everywhere he goes!”

Sandra Lynn tried to hold back her laughter, but it just bubbled up from her chest and came out as a graceless guffaw. She clapped her hand over her mouth, horrified that she’d laughed at her friend’s kid, but Sklonda was also laughing, shaking her head. It made her hair sway.

“Honestly I don’t know what to do with that boy some days. He’s a fucking, like a genius, you know? Like, I would murder every adult in Elmville for that kid. Just like, cold blood, bam.” She must’ve been at least a little tipsy, because she mimed shooting her handheld before dropping her hands back to the table. “But I can’t my fourteen-year-old to go the fuck to bed. It’s like, what am I missing, you know? What am I fucking up as a parent?”

And wasn’t that just the question. It sat on the table between them, the yawning pit that they both knew so intimately but also refused to acknowledge. Sandra Lynn twirled the stem of her glass between her fingertips.

“Sometimes I wonder if it’s even possible to be a single mother, and not like, totally fuck up your kid. At least for me.”

It felt like emptying the pockets of her soul, dumping it out on the table just so she wouldn’t have to carry it any more. Gilear was around, of course he was. It had just gotten so much harder, in the past six months. Fig was lashing out, and Sandra Lynn suspected that it was all her fault. She didn’t even know how she hoped Sklonda would respond, she just needed to say it. Sklonda dipped her head once in acknowledgement. After a long moment, she dug out her own confession.

“Sometimes I get mad at Pok for leaving me alone to raise our son.”

They didn’t meet each other’s eyes. Sandra Lynn wondered if they would even be able to, if they tried. Wondered if it would break the moment.

“Sometimes I wish I’d met Gorthalax first.”

“I don’t even like being a detective, I’m just too scared to try anything else.”

Back and forth they went, taking turns leaving their fears and shames at each others’ feet. They finished their margaritas, took them to the sink. They stood side-by-side at the sink, rinsing the dirty glasses with the ease of habit. They both did this, two women managing the dishes and the money and the school schedules, separated only by the distance of their houses. Sandra Lynn was struck suddenly with wondering how often they did the same thing at the same time, five miles away from each other, completely unaware. Did Sklonda also throw the laundry in at 11 p.m. on Sunday night, cursing when she realized her kid had no clean clothes for the next day? Did she also constantly have to swing by the store in her way home to pick up a rotisserie chicken for dinner, because she forgot to start the crockpot again? It was hard to imagine, a woman as competent as Sklonda. But, Sandra Lynn reasoned, Sklonda also had a lot more going on. At least Sandra Lynn could always send Fig to Gilear’s apartment, and he never missed a child support payment. Pok’s life insurance had gone directly into Riz’s college fund.

They wound up on the couch, slowly sobering up as the night ticked by. Sandra Lynn couldn’t tell if it was the last of the tequila, or the exhaustion, or something else entirely that kept making her notice the way Sklonda’s hands moved as she talked. Her voice was so animated, rhythmic and soothing and pretty. Her hair lost its emerald sheen under the dim city lights, painting it inky dark, casting shadows across the planes of her face. Sandra Lynn realized abruptly that she’d been staring for too long. Sklonda was looking at her, half-expectant, half-knowing.

Sandra Lynn was reminded suddenly of a moment from her youth, a tableau set to the music of crickets and creaking trees. She sat next to a beautiful woman in the dark, and the Sandra Lynn who had been an adventurer- she had leaned in to kiss that woman. This Sandra Lynn hadn’t learned her lesson, but she had learned to flinch away from dangerous things. So she didn’t lean in. She flinched, and blinked, and said, “Sorry, what? I was distracted.”

Sklonda nudged her knee. Sandra Lynn had to hold herself back from chasing the contact.

“I said, what are you doing next Thursday?”

 _You, hopefully._ Sandra Lynn bit her lip, then shrugged.

“Depends on Fig’s plans.”

Sklonda nodded. It was hard to tell in the low light, but Sandra Lyn thought she looked disappointed.

“Yeah, of course. I get it.” And Sandra Lynn knew that she wasn’t imagining how disappointed Sklonda sounded.

“You should stay. It’s late. I can drop you off on my way to pick up Fig.” It was an insane thing to say, Sandra Lynn knew it was insane. It made sense though, right? It was so late it was early, and they’d been drinking. That was a thing friends did, right? Now Sklonda was staring at her, mouth just slightly open. Maybe it wasn’t a thing friends did. Sandra Lynn cursed silently. It had been so long since she’d had a friend, so long since she’d built a good thing without destroying it.

“Sandra Lynn?”

Sandra Lynn swallowed.

“Yeah?”

“I’d like to stay.”

Sandra Lynn grinned with giddy relief. She slapped her thigh, then stood.

“Great! I’ll get some blankets!”

It took both of them to pull the bed out of the couch. They tugged the sheet over it, securing the elastic edges under the corners. Their knuckles brushed as they unfolded the quilt. Sandra Lynn froze. Sklonda smiled. They laid the quilt over the sheet.

“Sandra Lynn?” Sklonda leaned against the corner of the mattress, picked at the quilt.

“Yeah?” Sandra Lynn was unmoored. Sklonda looked up at her, and the eye contact was like a live wire.

“I’ve been really lonely.” Sandra Lynn nodded.

“And I’m not-“ Sklonda started, hesitated, tried again.

“I don’t have... a lot of room, right now. In my life. I’m not, you know, looking for anything.” Sandra Lynn nodded. She’d considered dating, tried it a couple of times. But the thought of trying to make time for a partner, trying to juggle date nights and long shifts, gave her a headache. Sklonda was setting a boundary. That was fine. That was good.

“But. But. Once you go upstairs, I’m going to be lonely again.”

Sklonda touched the back of Sandra Lynn’s hand, just brushing her skin with her fingertips.

“Stay?” Sandra Lynn blinked. She struggled to put the pieces together, fit all the things Sklonda had said together. She didn’t know how to react, couldn’t figure out what Sklonda wanted her to say. Sklonda was just watching her, huge, dark eyes steady as her aim.

“I haven’t had a friend in a long time,” she blurted out. Sklonda nodded.

“I don’t want to. Um. Fuck it up.” Sklonda’s expression softened.

“You won’t. We won’t. We can. You don’t have to, you know, be alone. We don’t have to be alone. We get to decide what we want. We get to decide what this means, for us.”

Sandra Lynn could feel herself nodding. Sklonda was right. They were adults, dammit, and they got to make the rules.

“I don’t want any promises from you, Sandra Lynn. I just want to- just get together sometimes, when we can. Drink margaritas, talk about our kids.” Sklonda paused, grinned slyly. “Fuck each other senseless.”

Sandra Lynn startled, and then they were both laughing, the exuberant laughter of women freed from expectations and pressure. Then they were kissing, sweet and still laughing. Sandra Lynn couldn’t remember the last time it had been so easy to kiss someone, the last time she’d smiled against someone’s mouth. They pulled apart, breathless, to maneuver each other onto the creaky pull-out bed. Sandra Lynn reached out to stroke Sklonda’s hair, just because she should. _Friends_ , Sandra Lynn kept thinking. It echoed in her head, a rhythm as steady as her heartbeat. _Friends, friends, friends._ She didn’t have to worry, didn’t have to guess or pretend, because Sklonda was her friend.

“Hey! Less staring, more kissing,” Sklonda insisted. Sandra Lynn obliged, pulling her in to press their mouths together, again and again. Sklonda’s long fingers curled around Sandra Lynn’s shoulders, insistent. Her lips were chapped, and so, so warm. Sklonda tilted her head for a better angle between kisses until they found a rhythm that made them both breathless.

“Hey, hey, hold on. Can I, uh, do you want to...” Sandra Lynn trailed off. She’d never had to ask a question like this before. She’d always been overwhelmed before, diving headfirst into intimacy so intense it left her dizzy. This was different, this required forethought and conversation, and Sandra Lynn wasn't sure what to do about that.

“Do I want to what? Feel you up? Yeah, for sure. You’re like, crazy hot.” Sandra Lynn burst into giggles again.

“Oh, same. Jesus you’re a good-looking woman. I don’t know how often you hear that but it for sure isn’t enough.”

Sklonda snorted.

“Real smooth, Faeth, real smooth.”

Sandra Lynn shrugged.

“I don’t have to be smooth, we’re already friends.” She couldn’t believe how smug that made her feel.

“Yeah, yeah, okay. Get back over here.” Sklonda tugged on her, pulling Sandra Lynn half on top of her. Sklonda was solid and panting beneath her, and god that was so hot. Her hands slipped up under Sandra Lynn’s polyester work shirt, skimming up her spine.

“Fuck that’s nice,” she muttered against Sklonda’s mouth. She retaliated by trailing her lips down to Sklonda’s jaw, testing her reactions. The corner of her jaw earned her a soft hum, the soft skin behind her ear made her breath hitch. The spot where her collarbone met her neck made her gasp. Sandra Lynn latched on, worrying the skin there with her lips and teeth until Sklonda was panting.

“That’s pretty damn nice, too,” she choked out. Sandra Lynn licked a stripe from the hollow of her throat to the underside of her jaw. Sklonda clenched her fingers against Sandra Lynn’s waist. She swore softly, then did something clever with her fingers that left Sandra Lynn’s bra unhooked, loose under her shirt. “

Holy shit,” Sandra Lynn gasped against her skin. “How did you do that?” Sklonda laughed.

“Rogue, remember? My dexterity is bonkers.”

“Okay, okay, wait. Show me how to do that,” Sandra Lynn demanded, distracted from her glowing arousal by this sudden, fierce curiosity. Sklonda laughed, and Sandra Lynn could feel the movement of it under her.

“Here, sit up, let me...” Sklonda shoved at Sandra Lynn’s shoulders until the were both sitting cross-legged on the bed, knees touching. “So you know how when you unhook your own bra, you just kind of put pressure on both sides of the clasp to pop the hooks out?”

Sandra Lynn stared at her blankly.

“Uh. What?”

Sklonda reached around with one hand, half-turned, to demonstrate. “Like this, you just sort of-“

“Sklonda. Sklonda. Are you telling me that you take your bra off clasp first and not straps first?”

Now it was Sklonda’s turn to stare in confusion.

“How would I get the straps off without undoing the clasp?”

“Oh my god. Here, look, take off your shirt,” Sandra Lynn demanded, scooting forward to help with the row of tiny buttons. Her own bra was still hanging loose from her shoulders, making her shirt gap awkwardly at the front. Strangely, she didn’t feel self-conscious about it. Under her pale, neat blouse, Sklonda was wearing a perfectly fitted, molded sports bra, with layers of stretchy black lace over the nylon.

“Wow,” Sandra Lynn breathed, reaching out to trace the curve of the underwire.

“That’s really pretty.” It figured that Sklonda would wear something both beautiful and practical. She caught Sklonda’s surprised look, and grinned. “You’re really pretty,” she corrected herself. Sklonda’s face brightened with delight - half from the compliment, half from the easy flirtation - and Sandra Lynn wanted to kiss her again. So she did. They kissed and kissed and kissed, laughing and stumbling, until Sklonda put her palm flat against Sandra Lynn’s sternum to push her back.

“Wait, wait! We were in the middle of something. You were gonna show me the-“ she gestured to her bra.

“Oh! Right! Here,” Sandra Lynn trailed her hands up Sklonda’s arms, suddenly tentative. She slid one finger under a strap and pulled it down, then the other. It took both hands to gently maneuver Sklonda’s elbow, and simultaneously pull the strap down and over, until it dangled loose.

“Oh,” Sklonda breathed. Sandra Lynn switched her attention to the other side, so that both of her bra straps were off.

“Then, here, lift your arms,” Sandra Lynn whispered. Sklonda obeyed, and Sandra Lynn gently tugged her bra around, exposing her breasts, so that the clasp was in the front. Sandra Lynn swallowed, the backs of her hands brushing soft skin. Sklonda was watching her, her attention sharp and unwavering. Sandra Lynn’s mouth was very dry.

“That is-“ Sklonda said as Sandra Lynn laid her palms flat against her ribs, her thumbs just brushing the underside of her breasts.

“-the most insane way-“ Sandra Lynn swept her thumbs up over the curve of her, grazing Sklonda’s soft nipples. Sklonda’s breath stuttered.

“-to take off a bra-“ Her breasts were smaller than Sandra Lynn’s palms, so easy to cup in her hands.

“- that I have ever seen, Sandra Lynn oh my god-“

Whatever else she planned to say was muffled by Sandra Lynn’s mouth, and now they were kissing properly, warm and wet and insistent. Sandra Lynn couldn’t seem to keep her hands off of Sklonda, tracing the shape of her waist, gripping her thighs, skimming her breasts and shoulders. Sklonda’s own hands were busy tugging and pulling, and without fully understanding how it happened, Sandra Lynn was shivering, topless, her skin pebbling in the cool air.

“Come here, let me-“ was followed by those clever hands flicking the button of Sandra Lynn’s jeans, Sandra Lynn pushing Sklonda back into the bed, supporting a large portion of her weight while she balanced precariously on one elbow. There was a messy, frantic scramble to get both of them stripped. Their hands tripped over each other, inconvenient elbows and knees slowing the process considerably, making them both giggle as their paints caught at their ankles. Sklonda looked so, so tempting, sprawled out on Sandra Lynn’s spare sheets, the only light drifting in from the street lamps outside. She had always been small, but Sandra Lynn was unprepared for how lithe she was, for the long definition of muscle on her stomach and thighs. They were neither of them as smooth or shapely or soft as they would have been ten years ago, but all Sandra Lynn could think was that Sklonda looked unbreakable. She looked like Sandra Lynn could touch her and she would be real and solid and beyond Sandra Lynn’s ability to destroy.

So Sandra Lynn touched her. She left trails of kisses down her ribs, kneading those gorgeous thighs with her hands, basked in the stifled sounds that Sklonda was making above her. Sandra Lynn sank into the sensation, the faint salt-sweat taste of her skin, the movement of her lungs under Sandra Lynn’s hands. She followed the dusty trail of dark green hair down from her belly button to the thatch of curly hair over her pubic bone, just enjoying the texture of it.

“Ah, I don’t usually, like, wax or anything...” Sklonda stuttered out, her hands clutched in the sheets. Sandra Lynn snorted.

“Sklonda, I’m a ranger. I don’t even shave my _legs_ if I can get away with it. I truly do not give a single fuck.” Sklonda’s laugh made her shift under Sandra Lynn’s hands. She stroked over Sklonda’s hips, down the broad front of her thighs, up and down. “Oh wait, here,” Sklonda said, then grabbed her hands and positioned them right over her hip bones.

“There, now just-“ Sandra Lynn pressed down, holding Sklonda’s hips in place. She absolutely melted, tipping her head back with a low sigh. “Yeah, like that.” “Any other hints?” Sandra Lynn asked, teasing. She could feel herself smiling, still reeling from how easy this was, how much fun she was having.

“Yeah stop fucking teasing and put your goddam mouth on me,” Sklonda retorted, just shy of laughing.

So Sandra Lynn did. And Sklonda kept right on laughing, snarking at her between gasps and punched out breaths. Somehow, that made it easier, kept the intimacy of the way she tasted from becoming overwhelming.

 _When was the last time I laughed during sex?_ Sandra Lynn wondered. It kept throwing off her rhythm, the way she had to stop and muffle peals of laughter against Sklonda’s thigh. But she didn’t seem to mind, so Sandra Lynn didn’t either.

Even when they switched places, Sklonda play-wrestling Sandra Lynn until they found a good angle, Sandra Lynn still felt so remarkably present. Sklonda turned out to be just as good at sex as she was at pretty much everything else, using her mouth and fingers in tandem in ways that Sandra Lynn had truly never considered.

After, both of them still damp ans sweaty, Sandra Lynn felt a rising moment of panic. This was where things always went wrong, if they were going to. She’d pretty much taken turns with the line “I probably shouldn’t have done that,” and she was honestly a pro at sneaking out while someone was showering.

But Sklonda nudged Sandra Lynn’s thigh with her toe.

“God, we should do that more often. If you want.”

Sandra Lynn nodded.

“Yeah, for sure. That was... fun. Like, actually fun. Is sex always this fun for you or is this just like a friend thing?”

Sklonda hummed thoughtfully.

“Honestly? I don’t have that much experience compare it to. But uh. Yeah. It’s always been fun.” She was quiet again, but it was the kind of silence that Sandra Lynn knew to wait through.

“Pok always made me laugh. Even during sex. I guess I kind of got used to it. I- I hope that’s okay.”

Sandra Lynn couldn’t tell if she meant the laughing or the sex or talking about Pok, but none of those things bothered Sandra Lynn in the slightest. She felt... touched. Trusted. She was surprised at how powerful that made her feel. She reached over and squeezed Sklonda’s hand.

“Yeah, of course it’s okay. And I’d love to do this again. Any of it. All of it.”

They didn’t talk any more after that, just drifted off to sleep, both spread-eagled, holding hands.

***

The next morning, they bickered over the shower and shared a pot of coffee, and made plans to meet up again the next week.


End file.
